Does EF (Education First) pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, EF (Education First) employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at EF (Education First). This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at EF (Education First)?

61% of EF (Education First) employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated EF (Education First) 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at EF (Education First)?

English Teacher (293) , Teacher (246) , Tour Consultant (238) , ESL Teacher (199) , Online English Teacher (199) , Sales Coordinator (137) , Sales (74) , Activity Leader (73) , Online ESL Teacher (66) , Sales Consultant (63) , Manager (61) , Educational Tour Consultant (46) , Marketing (42) , EF Activity Leader (40) , Sales Associate (40)

What are the pros of working at EF (Education First) according to real employee reviews?

"The company is great for people right out of college and that have an interest in education and travel." ((in 416 reviews)); "Overall really great culture and very easy to feel welcome!" ((in 325 reviews)); "Colleagues are great and share similar values for the most part." ((in 213 reviews)); "Great benefits and travel opportunities." ((in 173 reviews)); "The work environment can be fun and energetic." ((in 115 reviews))

What are the cons of working at EF (Education First) according to real employee reviews?

"You'll be doing a lot of work for low pay and have no life outside of EF." ((in 609 reviews)); "Employees are generally over worked and have an incredible amount of work for such a low salary." ((in 520 reviews)); "Poor management and lack of decisiveness from managers that have been stagnating in their roles for too many years." ((in 308 reviews)); "There can be long hours and you get told no on the phone quite often." ((in 152 reviews)); "Bad manager leading the country" ((in 123 reviews))

What are employees saying about EF (Education First) layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about EF (Education First) layoffs and their outlook for job security at EF (Education First) in 2026.

EF (Education First) reviews

3.4

61% would recommend to a friend

(4,608 total reviews)

Edward Hult, Ph.D

61% approve of CEO

47% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

EF (Education First) has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 4,608 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The EF (Education First) employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Educación industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

1.0

Nov 28, 2025

Financially struggling, unstable organisation

Data science engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

EF as a brand is appealing. Sometimes there is a trip to the Zurich office, with all expenses paid

Cons

Most of the company's employees in the EF Language Abroad division have been made redundant in 2025 due to financial difficulties and serve long notice periods. This makes collaboration on project success harder as people are busy looking for other jobs or using tactics to extend notice period. The company doesnt hire new replacements and overburdens existing employees, when people leave. The projects are managed adhoc and knowledge of existing/new leadership about modern tech is outdated so they feel uncertain when supporting innovation or new tech/Ai.. The company has had major failed projects, due to which the uncertainty is heightened. There is no work life balance. The data quality is quite poor - signal is lost in sales data due to lack of tracking, poor architecture and large non digital business component where data entry is done manually and only during certain periods - there is no dedicated architecture team to hanfle challenges - the business is struggling financially already and employees complain about job stability. Overall it doesnt feel like a Swiss or Nordic company.

EF (Education First) Response

6mo

Hi thanks for sharing all this. We have shared it with leadership. The points you’ve raised are serious and therefore we want to learn more. We’d appreciate hearing from you directly at hr@ef.com so we can properly address your concerns and make any changes. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience with us.

2.0

Nov 27, 2025

good for a first job but thats it

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

young staff nice office though

Cons

paycheck is bad turn over is really bad management.. no comment

EF (Education First) Response

6mo

Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience working in Lausanne. The concerns you’ve raised around management are serious and not reflective of the environment we recognize at EF, therefore we really want to hear more. While it’s difficult to address your concerns fully without more context, please know that we’re committed to maintaining a supportive and fair workplace for employees. We encourage you to reach out to your Recruitment and Employee Development team, or email hr@ef.com to share more about your specific experience so we can ensure everything you raised is properly addressed. Thanks again for sharing.

5.0

Nov 26, 2025

Great employer

Product designer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fantastic colleagues and a fast moving company

Cons

Sometimes a bit too fast moving

EF (Education First) Response

6mo

Great to hear you are enjoying your time as a Product Designer in Zürich. Thanks for taking the time to share it here for other job seekers, and wishing you all the best!

Viewing 115 - 117 of 4,608 Reviews

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Jobs at EF (Education First)

Activity Leader-Summer

Part-time ESL Teacher

Summer TEFL English Teacher

University & Academic Counselor